I am sick for the second time in about a month—and I am rarely sick, having accumulated a rather robust immune system over almost thirty years of teaching.
While sick, however, my rational self wilts under the weight of just wanting to be well. The first time I was sick a few weeks ago, I rode out the symptoms for over a week before seeing a doctor, and then taking a round of antibiotics. Then, a couple days ago, sickness crept back into my head (along with discovering that my daughter has the flu).
So in this context that many are experiencing during the cold and flu season, let me ask an important question: How do we characterize the tension between the medical profession and patients in terms of the dispensing of medications such as antibiotics?
And let me pose another question: What does that have to do with education reform?
I know that antibiotics should not be taken (and do not work) when I have a virus, and I also